long time fan first time owner with lots of ?

[dbblackburn]

always wanted a pontoon boat and now i have one!!!! i picked up a 1978 crest. 25 foot tubes with a 8ft x 20ft, deck bimini top, gas grill, fish finder, foot controled trolling motor, deck box, 3 swivel seats, 2 gas tanks, early 80s johnson 9.9 and a 1986 hoosier crank up trailer for $1500.00 needs a hole in the deck that was cut into it fixed and carpet. already made a new console for it.my first question is can i replacxe the transome wood with 3 layers of 3/4 " bc plywood if i coat it with fiberglass reisen? marine ply wood is not availble in my area.so if i turn the grains each a dif direction and coat all the layers and in between with reisen would that be ok for a 65hp motor? also what would be the ideal height for the motor? it is a early 70s 65hp long shaft 4 cyl. will try to get some pics up if i can figure out how.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: long time fan first time owner with lots of ?

The 65 hp long shaft will be great for that boat. Some will say underpowered, but that depends on what your want. I have a 60 hp on a 20'. You can use whatever you want for decking material, just some will rot faster. I don't know where you are located. I'm surprised you can't get marine plywood. Pressure treated materials can cause corrosion on aluminium. I don't know much about coating with fibreglas. The hole in the deck was probably for a livewell. Is composite deck material available to you to fix the hole?

 

[imported_John o]

Re: long time fan first time owner with lots of ?

Marine grade plywood is available mail order.

There is a website that handles everything for pontoons and rebuilds. You can order the wood and anything else you'd need there.

(I don't know if the rules here allow me to post a link to it)

 

[dbblackburn]

Re: long time fan first time owner with lots of ?

I am located in west pa between youngstown oh and pittsburgh. none of the local places have it.the hole in the deck is only about 6" x 12" they cut it in there to run a winch cabel thru.they cut the console in half and the hole in floor just to do a job on a dock need to lift some anchors.so i got her cheap. i had the 65hp motor just needed a lower unit got 300 in it and it came with some extra electrical parts and power trim wich i may have trashed yesterday i think the 65 will blow away the 9.9 it came with lol. i need a diagram of the trim pump to put it back together go figure it was spring loaded and cant figure where all the balls go.hope to get some pics up of it and maybe some one can help me